美国文学术语解释.docxVIP

术语解释（美国文学简史）

1、AmericanPuritanismBackgrounding:

AmericanPuritanismappearedinthecolonialperiod,from1607to1775,inAmerica.

Representatives:

Therearemanywritersinthisperiod,suchasCaptainJohnSmith,theauthoroftheTrueRelationofVirginia(1608)andDescriptionofNewEngland(1616),AnneBradstreet,whowrotethefamousworkcalledTenthMuseLatelySprungupinAmerica(1650).

Mainideas:

Theystresspredestination,originalsin,totaldepravity,andlimitedatonementfromGod’sgrace.TheygotoAmericatoprovethattheyareGod’schosenpeoplewhowillenjoyGod’sblessingsonearthandinHeaven.Finally,theybuildawayoflifethatstresseshardwork,thrift,piety,andsobriety.

Influences:

AmericanLiteratureisbasedonamyth------theBiblicalmythoftheGardenofEden.TheAmericanPuritan’smetaphoricalmadeofperception symbolism.Ithasagreatinfluencenot

onlyontheLiterarySceneinColonialAmerica,,butalsoontheliteratureinthe18thcentury,especiallyonJonathanEdwardsandBenjaminFranklin.

AmericanRomanticismBackgrounding:

Itappearedintheendofthe18thcenturythroughtheoutbreakoftheCivilWar,from1828to1865,anditwasstronglyinfluencedbyEuropeanculture.

Representative:

TherearesomerepresentativenewEnglandpoetsandout-sandingwriterssuchas,JamesFenimaoreCooper,theauthorofTheLeatherStockingTales,WashingtonIrving,whosefamousworkisTheSketchBook(1819).

Mainideas:

Romanticismisarebellionagainsttheobjectivityofrationalism..Forromantics,thefeelings,intuitionsandemotionsaremoreimportantthanreasonandcommonsense.Theyemphasizeindividualism,placingtheindividualagainstthegroup,againstauthority.

Influence:

Itproducesafeelingof“Newness”whichinspirestheromanticimagination.3、Transcendentalisms

Backgrounding:

TranscendtalismflourishedintheNewEnglandfromabout1836to1860.

RalphWaldoEmersonpublished‘Nature’in1836